Quiet Now Comes the Dawn
by ImagingThings
Summary: After the Battle of Hogwarts everybody must pick up the pieces and slowly move forward


As Harry woke up the next morning the first thing he saw was the canopy of the four poster bed above him, and for a short moment he felt as if everything that had happened in the last year could have been just another terrible dream. Then he looked around at the other – empty – beds and realised that it had all been true; Dumbledore's death, the hunt for the horcruxes, the battle, all of it.

Wearily he got out of the bed and walked down towards the Common Room, as he entered he noticed how a group of people were gathered around the fire, all of them looking up the moment he entered the room.

"You _idiot!_ " Before he could react, Ginny had launched herself at him, pounding his chest while tears streamed down her face. "Why did you have to go and give yourself up to Voldemort? What if you had actually died? What should I have done then?"

"Gin… Gin…" Harry whispered, taking her by the wrists to stop her attack, and then pressing her close to him. He did not say anymore, he knew that for now words would not make any sense, would not serve to explain. Now, at this moment when pain at the loss of a brother, and fear at the thought of losing a lover overwhelmed the beautiful brilliant girl in his arms all he could do was hold her close and let his actions, rather than his words, tell her that he was never leaving her again.

Eventually Harry realised that however much he wished otherwise they could not remain locked in each other's arms forever. Gently he loosened his grip on her, took her hand, and led her the short distance to where everyone else were still sitting. As he looked around, he felt the sadness and pain well up inside him with renewed force, especially at the sight of the one-eared young man clinging to his mother while he sobbed uncontrollably for the brother – his other half – he had lost.

"Where's…?" Harry asked, realising that Fred was not the only Weasley missing from the group.

"Helping with the cleaning." Bill answered darkly. "Ron and Hermione explained what happened when… he feels guilty, even though he shouldn't. Now he tries to deal with it the only way he ever knew how to; by working."

As he spoke George looked up and shock his head sadly, it was clear to Harry that he did not blame his erstwhile-estranged brother for his twin's death, then why did Percy have to blame himself?

For a while they remained like that; each of them holding on to at least one other person as if the continued existence of the world depended on it, none of them wanting to walk down to the Great Hall and be faced with the bodies of those who had so tragically been killed in the battle. However, after a long last they made a silent agreement that they had to face the facts of what had happened, they were Gryffindors after all, and being a Gryffindor meant being brave, even in the face of something so horrible. It was strange in a way – Harry thought to himself as they made their way down to the Great Hall – being in the middle of a battle had not really fazed any of them. But the thought of seeing the bodies, even though they had already seen them, made it feel as if then it would be irrevocably real, as if then those who had died were really not coming back.

When they entered the Great Hall, they noticed how everyone who had died during the battle against Voldemort was lying in state upon the dais where the High Table usually stood; upon the chest of each of them was a golden medal with a green ribbon. Harry was glad to see Snape among them.

"I went to the Headmaster's office last night." McGonagall explained, walking over to them as the Weasleys once again gathered around the body of Fred. "Dumbledore's portrait explained everything."

Nodding Harry looked around at each of those who had fallen in the battle. He was saddened – and somewhat touched – by the fact that so many, even people he never knew, had been willing to fight and die for him. After Fred his eyes first fell upon Tonks and Lupin; the couple was lying side-by-side, their hands still reaching out towards each other. Next, his eyes fell upon Lavender, and he felt a twinge of regret over how much fun he had poked at the relationship between her and Ron. Lastly, his eyes fell upon Colin, even though he knew that the boy might have already turned 17 he was shocked about how tiny he looked, then he remembered something.

"Professor." He said, turning towards McGonagall. "Colin was muggleborn. Someone needs to tell his parents – and brother – what happened to him."

"I know, Potter, I know." came the sad reply. "I will do so myself, as soon as I am not needed here any longer."

The rest of the morning passed in almost complete silence. Everyone mulled around paying their respects to those who had fallen, while trying as they best could to comfort those who had lost someone close to them. At one point Andromeda Tonks entered the room with little Teddy in her arms, as soon as she saw her daughter she broke down crying. Later Harry noticed how the Malfoys were sitting quietly in a corner, still not quite sure if they belonged there. Excusing himself, he walked over to the small family.

"You lied." He said matter-of-factly. "Why?"

"I would think that was obvious." Narcissa replied sneeringly. "I didn't really care about Voldemort winning anymore, all I wanted was to find my son."

"I know. But you aren't the only one here who has lied on my behalf recently." He turned towards Draco. "At the Manor, you knew it was me, didn't you? Yet you didn't say anything."

"I said I couldn't be sure. For all I knew you could have been someone enchanted to look like you, then having his face messed up so we would think it was very important that we didn't recognise you."

"I'm glad anyway. Oh, by the way, I suppose you'll want this back." Without any more words, Harry took the hawthorn wand out of his pocket and handed it back to Draco, and then he turned around and went back over to his friends.


End file.
